This is the first year that I have stayed up into the wee hours waiting for the final results of the Eurovision song contest. I was always mildly interested in Eurovision and how Armenia fared--but 2010 was different.

Armenia, gracing the stage in Oslo with the absolutely fabulous Eva Rivas, came up with the best pop song I have heard them deliver--"Apricot Stone." The audience in Oslo, where the contest was held, gave Eva rapturous applause. Her performance I thought was really amazing, well choreographed and very lively. Unfortunately, most of Europe didn't agree. Germany taking 246 points won first place, with their performer Lena's song, "Satellite."

UPDATED: Armenia ended up taking seventh place. Turkey and Romania took second and third place, respectively. As for Armenia's immediate neighbors, Azerbaijan came in at fifth place while Georgia took ninth.

Here's how some of the countries voted for Armenia:

Russia gave 12 points--the most possible from a single country--to Armenia, thanks in part to the 2 million Armenians there.

Greece gave 7.

France gave 6.

Spain gave 8.

Bulgaria gave 8. (10 to Turkey, 12 to Azerbaijan)

Ukraine gave 6. (8 to Turkey, 10 to Russia, 12 to Azerbaijan)

Latvia gave 1--thanks Latvia.

Cyprus gave 7.

Belarus gave 5.

Belgium gave 7.

The Netherlands gave 12 (the Dutch and the Armenians have a long, amicable history together).

Israel gave 12 (probably to annoy Turkey since they're not the best of friends at the moment).

Macedonia gave 4.

Moldova gave 6.

Georgia gave 10. (8 for Azerbaijan)

Sweden gave 1--no more Swedish meatballs for me (not that I ever ate them anyway, nor do I even know if they are actually Swedish).

Armenia, incidentally, gave 8 votes to Ukraine, 10 to Russia, 12 to Georgia.

I was glad that Armenia did not win since in reality Eva did not deserve to loose because of the song was not good, but she deserved to loose because she and her camp played some very dirty tricks to win in Armenia. I can say this as I saw the whole process with my own eyes.

If Armenia ever wants to win Eurovision, then they need to figure out what the majority of the voters really likes and tailor their song to such tastes. If we keep sending Armenians songs to Eurovision, then don't expect to win.

Oh and as for the selection process, we need to have a fair contest in Armenia or just be honest and let a group of specialists decide who will go so that we don't insult artist who end up wasting their time to compete in a contest they can't win anyway.